Top iOS Games & Apps in June: Contra Return Enters China’s Charts, Dating Apps Do Well in the West

The top story in June’s Top iOS Games and Apps by Revenues and Downloads was the surprise success of Contra Return in the Chinese game ranking, with Tencent’s and Konami’s revival of the classic title hitting a player-versus-player sweet spot.

Supercell dominated the game revenue ranking in Europe. In terms of non-game apps, dating apps performed well ahead of the summer social calendar. In the U.S., Tinder jumped ahead of HBO Now in the app revenue standings, but will likely lose its lead when the new season of Game of Thrones arrives in mid-July.

China: Contra Return Storms the Game Charts

King of Glory once again topped the game download and revenue rankings in China. Tencent’s mobile MOBA continues to dominate the Chinese mobile gaming market, with seemingly little other than Tencent’s self-imposed restrictions on the game likely to stop it.

However, the most interesting story was a little lower down in the charts. Tencent’s and Konami’s Contra Returns, a reboot of the classic side-scrolling shooter with added PVP elements, entered the download ranking at #2 and the grossing charts at #6. British indie hit Monument Valley 2 also performed well in China, making it to the top five downloads after extensive featuring in the region.

In the app rankings, MOMO took the #1 grossing spot from video app IQIYI, which slipped #3. Ximalaya Listening was arguably the biggest winner for June, gaining eight positions in the grossing ranking as users tuned into the podcast platform.

In terms of downloads, shopping apps won big as Taobao topped the ranking and Jingdong’s app climbed 12 places. There was bad news for bike hire app OFO; despite expanding to the West, the app dropped 10 spots and is at risk of slipping out of the top 20 entirely.

Europe: Newly Updated Clash of Clans Fights to the Top

Supercell’s decision to launch an extensive upgrade of Clash of Clans has paid off in Europe. The title was the top grossing game in June, meaning the Finnish giants held the top two positions in the continent. Meanwhile, there was bad news for MZ and its Epic War studio. Game of War and Mobile Strike dropped three and two positions, respectively, as freshly updated rivals squeezed them out of the top five.

While Ketchapp did not top the game download charts this month, the casual game hit maker was the biggest winner overall. Three of the top five most downloaded games in Europe were Ketchapp games, helping the company beat the likes of Supercell and Rovio.

Looking at apps, Netflix dominated in terms of revenues. It topped the charts riding high off the back of the new seasons of House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

Dating apps also had a good month in June. Badoo, Lovoo, and AdopteUnMec all climbed the revenue rankings, as people across Europe attempted to kickstart their own summers of love.

United States: Tinder on fire, Clash Royale loses its crown

Once again, the top three revenue-generating apps in the U.S. were stable from the previous month. Netflix, Pandora, and YouTube held onto the #1, #2, and #3 positions, respectively. However, dating app Tinder overtook HBO Now at #4, but will have to fight to hold its spot when the new season of Game of Thrones drops in July.

Soundcloud also climbed the grossing charts. Despite reports suggesting the app is on the brink of going out of business, it gained two places to #12. There was little of note in the download charts. With no new entries into the top 20, the notable mover was Bitmoji, up four places to grab #2.

In the game revenue ranking, Clash Royale’s reign came to the end as King’s Candy Crush Saga stole the top spot. June was a good month for King, with Candy Crush Soda Saga also up three positions, but Supercell can take comfort from Clash of Clans’ continued strong performance. June was also a busy month for the game download ranking. There were 11 new entries, with the biggest name being Sega’s recently released emulation of the original Sonic the Hedgehog reaching #3. But considering the publicity around Sega Forever, the company may be slightly disappointed by the performance.

June was also a busy month for the game download ranking. There were 11 new entries, with the biggest name being Sega’s recently released emulation of the original Sonic the Hedgehog reaching #3. But considering the publicity around Sega Forever, the company may be slightly disappointed by the performance.

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